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Mmm trainer Saturday, February 3, 2007 I was forced, by virtue of really cold and windy weather, to ride indoors for the first time this winter. I'm actually pretty happy about holding out for the entire month of January, but I suspect I have not living in Michigan anymore to thank for that, at least in part. Anyway, it wasn't an awful ride, although I had run an hour in the morning so my legs were tired from that. I'm trying to figure out how to read while on the trainer, because I am bored with the movies I have and I don't want to rent any new ones.
This has been a tough week, running-wise, because I took two days off from running while still trying to hit 35 miles. Clearly, I won't be able to afford days off like that as my mileage increases from here on out, so I will have to be a bit more disciplined about getting out there, even in the way-cold temps we're getting hit with starting tonight. I can see that I've come a long way since Thanksgiving though, and I'm almost halfway to where I want my peak mileage to be. I just have to keep in mind that easy miles are important now, and that fast stull will come later.
Heat wave... ok, maybe not It's WAY cold right now, colder than it got just about all winter in Michigan last year. This is not ok with me; clearly, the powers that be did not drop me a line to find out if I approved or not. It was -2F when I went to work early this morning (that's -19C, or 254 Kelvin if you're completely against temperatures being negative). No matter the scale, it was just plain cold. Today was the first Monday in five weeks that wasn't a complete rest day, but I'm getting to the point where I'll have precious few of those anymore. The plan is to run close to forty miles this week, and to ride for at least three hours, so to avoid putting in any monster days, I'll just have to suck it up and train every day. This shouldn't really be an issue, though; I had plenty of stretches last winter and spring where I rarely took complete days off.
I guess I'll chalk it up to quick healing, but both my left hip and ankle feel pretty much fine now. My lingering ITB issue has all but vanished (I can still feel it just a little bit, and not during workouts) and the strange tweaked miscle/tendon on the medial sid eof my ankle has very quickly gone away as well. It lingered for weeks last winter, but it seems that one rest day in the middle of last week did the trick. Knock on wood; now that I've spoken, they'll probably both flare up again, or something else will start to hurt.
Ice beard This is what my beard looked like at the end of 10 miles this evening with the Pharaoh Hounds:
It was ten degrees out, and the wind chill was right around zero. Pretty sweet.
Ready for spring As interesting and fun as my Tuesday run was, I think I developed some mild frostbite on parts of me that were exposed to the wind and cold for the entire run. That's not much fun, so I'm ready for warm weather now. As much as I actually look forward to getting on the trainer (weird, huh?), I'm probably going to bag it for this evening. Work has been pretty tiring this week, so I will simply have to get my miles in over the weekend. I've got a couple sweet movies to watch, so that will keep me entertained. So much for not renting other movies, too, but there's no way I could ride on the trainer for a month or so (which is my prediction as I get through the worst winter weather) without new movies. Preferably movies where things blow up a lot.
In my mind, I am about 90% committed to coaching in Ann Arbor this spring. I'm getting excited for that, not only because the coaching gig is fun and I know people in Michigan, but also because I'll be able to get out and ride for hours without too much trouble. Can't do that here.
Keep it clean
... cause dopers suck. I'm going to be bumping my bike mileage up a little faster than I had originally planned. This is because I will likely be working at camp again this summer, and I rarely have enough time to do much on the bike there. If I can maintain five to six hours a week this summer, that'll be enough to get some quality work in while maintaining endurance... assuming I build a pretty big base between now and then. So, starting next week, I'm stepping it up en route to some 200-mile weeks (in May).
I will, of course, continue my slower running progression at the same time. After tomorrow, I will have almost hit 40 miles for the past week. My legs are really coming around now: they've stopped hurting, and I've felt strong on almost all of my runs this week. These are definitely good signs.
Ice ice baby
It's a bit icy out. It snowed a good 5-6 inches today, and now freezing rain is making a total mess out of everything. As such, I didn't get to run today, and decided to just take the day completely off. I had been going for two weeks without a break, so one day of rest will do me good. I'll jump on the trainer tomorrow for a while, and probably attempt at least a few miles outside. Thankfully, this is supposed to be an easy, low-mileage running week, so I will focus on bike miles and not worry if I don't run all that much. However, it would be nice to get at least some running in.
I've had enough
Now I'm really ready for winter to end. Today's run - my first in three days because of the weather - went ok, but I hate taking that many days off in a row from running. It was also tough to run in some places because there's still so much snow and ice on the ground. I'm also confined to the trainer for the forseeable future; while I think I can handle that for a little while, I really hope it doesn't last into March.
Trainer = fun?
For the past couple years, I've been totally set against riding the trainer. I've only done so out of necessity, when it's been too cold or nasty out to ride safely, and I hated every minute of it most days. This year, though, things have changed. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't mind my trainer sessions at all - in fact, I look forward to them, too. I think I'm finally getting over being burned out on indoor riding, which I managed to do to myself in 2003 by putting in 30+ hours a month on the trainer from January through March. Even though I'm still on the same not-that-great trainer, we've reconciled our differences and I've come to appreciate my indoor rides this winter. I do still wish that the snow would melt and the roads would clear up, but I'm not impatient for that to happen this year.
Blew it I blew my plan for the first time in 12 weeks last week - I didn't quite make my running goal. It was supposed to be an easy week, so I didn't miss a whole lot, but I'm a little annoyed because I'd been really good at hitting my goals since Thanksgiving. My legs are a little more sore now than usual, because of a little too much time off, so I suppose that will have to be my punishment. I won't swell on it too much, though; one week this early in the season isn't going to matter much at all.
I have, however, been plugging away on the bike, upping my mileage and getting stronger. The weather has taken a turn for the better, so I may be able to get outside again later this week (if it also stays reasonably dry). It'll be time to start taking some longer rides after work, hitting the hills to get stronger. I might stay indoors for my quality sessions though, at least for a little while, since I have a little more control that way. We'll see what happens.
Sore legs
My legs are SORE. I put in nearly 12 miles yesterday evening (after riding earlier), about five of which was tempo. It was also 40 degrees and raining steadily. Needless to say, I was dead to the world last night, and found it somewhat difficult to move this morning. I managed to put in a few miles on the roads this afternoon, as well as an hour on the trainer, but it was pretty tough.
Woah boy I guess I must have thought my legs were sore on Wednesday. Yeah, that was nothing. I'm totally beat now, and I've still got some training on the schedule for tomorrow. I got all my running for the week done with today though - with a very hilly 10-miler - because we're supposed to get an ice storm tomorrow. I'll pass on running on ice if I can avoid it, especially when I'm already tired.
And for the record, Andes mints are really, really tasty.
Settling in I'm groovin' right now. My legs are still a little sore from the past three weeks of increasing bike mileage - I could feel the soreness deep inside my quads on my ride today - but I am regaining some snap. I've still got a long way to go, but taking it easy this week will let my muscles recover and I'll be ready to kick it and really develop my riding soon. The weather's beginning to cooperate, too, which is nice. If there's one good thing about Pittsburgh, it's that it is warmer here than in Michigan! Where on earth did this month go? Sheesh.
February 2007: |
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